Unexpected
by rosexpetals
Summary: Dylan starts falling for the Clinical Nurse Manager Rita Freeman, but what will he do when something tragic happens?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"You did well today." Rita said whilst leaning on the door frame to the clinical leads office.

"Uh, well thanks, I suppose." Dylan replied not looking up from his overflowing pile of paperwork.

"Me and the team were just about to go and get some drinks if you'd like to come and join us?" Rita asked.

Dylan looked up and was about to say something but was stopped in his tracks. _Wow. Never before have I ever seen such beauty. She looks so perfect, why have I not noticed this before. The way her hair perfectly frames her face; her outfit sitting beautifully on her figure. DYLAN STOP. WHY ARE YOU THINKING THESE THINGS? STOP._

"Uh I would normally would but um I have to get through all this paperwork." Dylan answered hoping that she hadn't noticed that he was thinking about her.

"That's okay. Dylan?"

"Yes?" Dylan looked up at her again.

"If you ever need any help, you know with the paperwork I'm happy to help." Rita's cheeks turned a light pink.

"That won't be necessary but thanks anyway. See you tomorrow Rita."

"No problem, see you tomorrow Dylan."

Rita walked away from the office. Dylan just stared at her. He fell onto the chair and buried his face into his hands.

How could he possibly be falling for another woman ever since the disaster of the last time?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day, Dylan walked into the ED to find Rita at the reception chatting to Louise and Robyn and having a good old gossip about something. _Her laugh is so beautiful; when she smiles it brightens up the whole room. Dylan what are you doing, stop thinking these things again. You are not going to fall for another woman. Just get to work and hope that she hasn't noticed you looking at her and daydreaming._ Dylan thought to himself. He started to walk to his office and trying not to look at the reception but he was stopped when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see that it was Rita who was calling him. _Great._

"Yes Rita?" He tried to sound like his normal self as possible.

"Uh, um I was wondering if you, uh," Rita stuttered.

"Well come on spit it out."

"It doesn't matter." Rita looked down and started to walk off but Dylan stopped her.

"Follow me."

"Um, okay." Rita looked puzzled but followed Dylan anyway.

They turned up at his temporary office and Dylan let her in.

"Why did you bring me here?" Rita asked.

"You wanted to ask me something and you were getting embarrassed because of your friends." Dylan said calmly even though he was tearing himself up inside just for being in a room alone with her.

"Oh."

"Well what were you going to ask me?" Dylan pondered.

"I was going to ask you, if you wanted to come for a drink after work, but if you don't want to that's fine it's just that the girls dared me to because well I was talking to them and…"

"Rita, of course I will go for a drink with you." Dylan smiled.

"That was a bit weird but thank you."

"What was weird?"

"You smiled." Rita chuckled. "I've never seen you smile."

"That is because I save it for people that I like."

Rita blushed at his statement and her eyes grew wider but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll just go." Rita said before rushing out of the office. On her way out she bumped into Robyn who was ecstatic to find out the gossip between Rita and Dylan.

"Well what did he say?" Robyn blurted out.

"He said yes!" Rita said excitedly with a little smirk on her face.

"Ooh Rita you sneaky fox, did he say anything else?"

"He smiled and said that he doesn't usually smile unless it's in front of people he likes."

"I bet he has the hots for you Reet." Robyn winked.

"Oh shove off." Rita said pushing Robyn slightly but her cheeks blushed a light tint of pink.

They had got to the end of their shift and Rita was waiting for Dylan outside. She had stood there for about 20 minutes but he still hadn't turned. Rita grew agitated and decided to go back into the hospital to see what was taking him so long. She walked into his office to find Dylan sitting at his desk and looking down.

"Dylan? Is everything okay?" Rita asked.

Dylan looked up at Rita; his face full of worry.

"Yes I'm just nervous that's all." Dylan replied.

Rita chuckled, "nervous about what?"

"About having a drink with you," Dylan blushed.

"You don't have to worry, I won't bite," Rita laughed, she walked over to sit on the sofa that was in the office.

"It's not that, I just haven't been on date since, well Sam."

"Who said it was date?" Rita smirked.

"Uh, well I thought…"

"Dylan, I'm joking. Who's this Sam then?"

"Well she used to work here actually, Sam Nicholls." Dylan joined Rita on the sofa.

"Oh, that Sam? I know her."

"You do?" Dylan said surprised.

"Yes, she married Tom."

"Right, well we were married."

"Really? I can't imagine you being married." Rita laughed.

Dylan and Rita sat in his office for a good couple of hours; they talked about lots of stuff ranging from the staff to what their favourite food is.

They were both pleasantly surprised that they had got along so well and that they actually had stuff in common. It had gotten very late and Rita decided that she better go because she had to get up her early tomorrow for her shift. After some awkward goodbyes with not knowing if she should hug him goodbye she eventually left his office. When she walking out of the hospital she got a few raised eyebrows from her colleagues but she ignored them and made her way home.

 **AN: The next chapter may be triggering for some people because of the mention of rape.**


	3. Chapter 3

**TW - This chapter contains rape.**

 **Chapter 3**

It was a new day in the Emergency Department of Holby City. Dylan was still acting Clinical Lead and there was a surprise waiting for Rita as she was walking in to the department. Mark. It was her ex-husband. He must've just got out of prison and she certainly was not expecting him.

She walked over to him with a confused expression on her face.

"Mark what are you doing here?"

"I need to speak to you Rita."

"Well I need to get to work so whatever you have to say to me has to be important and quick."

"Is there any chance for us?"

Rita took a step and folded her arms. "Excuse me?"

"I'll take that as a no then."

"Of course, why did you even bother coming here, you knew the answer, we are over Mark. We were over when I found out you were lying to me. You disgust me and I never want to see you again."

Rita went to walk away but was stopped by Mark who had grabbed hold of her elbow. Dylan who was at reception having a little tiff with Louise had noticed the kerfuffle between the two and decided to make his way over to them. When Mark seen that Dylan was coming over he let go of Rita's elbow.

"Is this man bothering you Rita?" Dylan asked.

"No I'm fine Dylan. Mark just go home!" Rita replied and walked off to the staffroom.

"Rita!" Mark called out.

"You heard the lady go." Dylan started to square Mark up.

"And what if I don't?"

"You'll have me to deal with."

"She got you running after her, has she? Are you her little fancy man?"

Whack. Dylan punched Mark square in the nose and he fell to the floor.

"Now if you don't mind leaving my department that would be great."

"You're going to regret that." Mark whispered to himself before getting up and heading out of the ED.

Dylan made his way to the staff room where Rita was making herself a cup of coffee; Dylan could see that she had been crying. He would hug her but he's not one for hugs even if he does fancy her like mad.

"Are you okay Rita?" Dylan asked.

"I'm fine." Rita snapped; she turned to face him. "Sorry, thank you for helping me just then, I don't know what he was thinking when he came here."

"What exactly has he done though?"

"It doesn't matter." Rita answered.

"Right, well I won't pester you about it but what I do need to know is; will you be fine for working today because I can always give you the day off."

"No I'll be okay, I'm not going to let him stop me from doing my work but thank you for asking."

It was the end of Rita's shift, she didn't fancy going to the pub that night not after what had happened today, she'd rather have a relaxing bath and try to forget about the man who had wrecked her life.

She was walking home and she had nearly reached her house but was stopped by a man who pulled her by the arm and pushed her up against the wall. The hand gripped on her arm felt familiar. Mark.

"Mark what are you doing?" Rita asked with fear in her voice.

"So is that doctor your new boyfriend?"

"What?"

"Don't lie to me Rita."

"I don't know what you're on about."

"You know perfectly well what I'm on about and I'm going to make him pay."

"What are you going to do?" Rita cried out.

"I'm going to hurt his precious little sweetheart."

"There is nothing going on."

"I've already told you to not lie to me."

Rita tried to pull away but he had gripped his hands onto her arms so hard that she could barely move. He started to kiss her; a single tear rolled down her cheek. She couldn't move; she just froze. She couldn't even scream out for her help, he had her pinned up against the wall and made her feel small and grubby.

Once he had finished she fell down to the floor, he bent down and whispered in her ear:

"You deserved that you dirty slapper. Don't ever lie to me again otherwise it will be worse next time."

He stood up and spat on her, then walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Rita sat there shaking; tears streaming down her cheeks. She grabbed her bag and put all her stuff back in. She tried to stand up using the wall to help her but her body just fell back down to the floor, her wrist had given way; it felt like she had sprained it. She cried out in pain. She eventually pulled herself up and made her way home. When she got home she locked the door straight away, she then locked every window and basically anything you could lock. Despite this, she still didn't feel safe. She could still smell him on her so she went upstairs and turned the shower on to the highest heat possible, she got in and she tried to scrub herself clean but she could still smell him and feel him on her. She got out of the shower and put her clean pyjamas on but the feeling of dirtiness and grubbiness still lay upon her. Trying to get to sleep was the hardest part, every time she closed her eyes she was there again, pinned up against the wall. Tears streamed down her cheeks, she just lay there staring into space trying to forget about the events but she knew that these thoughts would never leave. She started to blame herself; _I shouldn't have provoked him. I should've just spoken to him and this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault; I should never have set eyes on Dylan, if I hadn't Mark wouldn't have gotten angry. It's all my fault. Why am I so stupid? I know what he is like and yet I tried to be strong and I shouldn't have done that. He has always been the stronger one in the relationship and I should not have tried to change that because I knew he would get angry and make me suffer. It's all my fault._ She couldn't shake these thoughts. She replayed the whole day through her head. _Everything I did was wrong, everything I did provoked him and I was giving him more reasons to take revenge. If I had just accepted to talk about our relationship then maybe I wouldn't be here. I should've just spoken to him, I could've talked him around it would upset him but at least he would understand a little more. But no I had to be cocky and show him up. Why did I do that? Why can't I just stop myself some times? I need to take control of myself and stop throwing myself in people's faces._ Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing next to her. She picked it up to hear Dylan's voice asking her how she was feeling after today. She didn't answer; she couldn't bear talking to anyone; not at the moment. _That's another thing._ She thought to herself. _If Dylan didn't get involved I might not be in this mess. Then again he was only trying to help and I did lead him on when I shouldn't have. It's just like Mark said I'm a dirty slapper and nobody should love me because I will just wreck their lives. I don't deserve happiness, not when I go around acting like this, throwing myself at men, shouting at people. I deserved what happened to me today. I don't deserve to have people care about me anymore. I deserve to suffer on my own and not involve people in my life because I'll just ruin theirs._

Rita went downstairs; these thoughts racing through her mind. She searched through her cupboards to find some sleeping pills but she couldn't find any. She did find a full vodka bottle though. She hesitated for a moment thinking if it was good idea or not but she had to find a way to wash away the thoughts. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard above and poured herself a glass of pure vodka. She started to sip it slowly but ended up downing it in own. It tasted horrible but she knew from experience when Mark got sent down that vodka was the best medicine to wash away bad memories and thoughts.

It only took her an hour to finish the whole bottle of vodka, she went into the kitchen to see if she could buy another one but when she was searching through the cupboards she started to feel faint, she stood up but not for long as she had fallen to the floor and was unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning Rita woke up on her kitchen floor; her head was banging. She struggled to get herself up from the floor. She had completely forgotten about her wrist. Then the events of last night came flooding back to her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks; she hugged herself. This is the smallest she has ever felt, she just wanted to get away from everything. The thought of going to work today made her feel sick so she decided to give Dylan a call but was beaten to it as her phone started to ring.

"Hello." Rita said, even her voice was weak.

"Hello Rita, is everything okay? I phoned you last night but there was no answer."

"Um, yeh, Dylan I'm not feeling too great and I don't think I'll be able to come into work today." Rita sniffled.

Dylan could tell she had been crying. "Oh right okay. Are you sure everything is okay?" He pondered.

"Yes I'm fine Dylan; I'm just not well that's all."

"Right well I hope you feel better tomorrow, goodbye."

"Goodbye." Rita put the phone down.

Dylan did not believe that she was okay, there was clearly something else. He would go see her but he was acting clinical lead and there was a meeting this morning that he had to attend. If he got the chance to sneak off later on in the day he would try to visit her.

For the whole of the meeting he couldn't get Rita off his mind. He was extremely worried about her; he had hardly seen her cry and that worried him even more.

After the meeting Dylan made his way to office he looked over to the nurses when he seen that Rita was also among them. He walked over to the little group.

"Rita?" Dylan asked. "I thought you weren't coming in today?"

"Well I'm feeling better; I just needed to eat something that's all." Rita tried her hardest to smile.

"Hmm, well can I see you in my office?" Dylan knew there was more to it than not feeling well.

Rita followed Dylan to his office.

"Why were you crying this morning?" Dylan asked straight away.

"I wasn't?" Rita tried to sound confused.

"Don't lie to me Rita."

Rita flash backed to last night. Mark had said exactly the same thing. She took a step away from Dylan. Dylan look confused and he therefore took a step closer to her.

"What's wrong Rita? You can tell me." Dylan said touching Rita's arm, she flinched and moved further away from him.

"Please don't hurt me." She cried out. Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"I'm not going to? Rita's it's okay I'm not going to hurt you, I could never do that."

"I need to get back to work." Rita turned and walked over to the door, but she had grabbed the door handle with her bad hand and it sent shooting pains up her arm. She cried out again. Dylan rushed over to her help her but as soon as he touched her she backed away from him.

"Don't touch me." She said angrily holding onto her wrist. She took hold of the handle with her good hand and ran outside.

"Rita?" Zoe asked who was walking into the ED. Rita just ignored her.

Dylan stood in the office completely bemused.

Zoe decided to see what was wrong so she went into Dylan's office.

"Is everything all right?" Zoe asked Dylan who was still standing in the same place.

"I don't really know." He replied.

"And what do you mean by that?

"Well Rita she was crying and acting weird and then she just ran out."

"That's not like her; do you want me to talk to her?"

"No I think she just needs some time alone." Dylan walked over to sit by his desk.

"You like her don't you Dylan." Zoe smirked.

"No." Dylan blushed slightly but he tried to hide it by pretending to read some paperwork.

"Whatever you say," Zoe chuckled whilst making her way out of the office.

Rita was sat outside on one of the benches when she noticed movement from behind her; she decided to see what it was. Mark. She started to step backwards but he had already grabbed her by the arm. He covered her mouth so she couldn't scream out but she had already started crying.

"Now you listen to me, you tell anyone about last night and I will kill him." Mark said sternly.

Mark took his hand away from her mouth so that she could answer him.

"Kill who?"

"Don't be thick, that Doctor that has his eye on you."

She didn't reply.

"Tell anybody and he gets it understood?"

"Understood?" He repeated. Rita nodded, she was shaking and you could see the fear in her eyes.

Mark walked away from her. When she could see that he had gone she let out the breath she hadn't realised that she was keeping in. Panic started to rise up in her as she kept on remembering about the previous night, her breath rate started to increase and chest felt tight, even though she was breathing quickly it felt like she couldn't breathe at all. She walked to sit on the bench, it didn't help much but at least she was sitting down. Dylan walked outside and looked over to see Rita hunched over and struggling to breath. He ran over to her.

"Rita, Rita? Look at me." Dylan demanded kneeling down in front of her. Rita looked into Dylan's eyes as he spoke. "I think you're having a panic attack, I need you slow down your breathing, now try to breathe in time with me. In and out. In and out. That's better."

Rita started to breathe more easily and no longer felt so panicked. Dylan stood up and sat next to her. Rita started to cry again. Dylan grabbed hold of her and pulled her in for a hug.

"What's wrong Rita? You can tell me." Dylan asked softly.

"I can't." Rita wept.

"Yes you can, I'm not going to judge you, and I'm going to be here for you whatever the case."

"No I can't tell you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Dylan looked down at Rita.

"Who's threatened you Rita?" Dylan asked worried.

"No one,"

"Well somebody must've to cause you to have a panic attack and to make you think that if you tell me something I'm going to get hurt."

"It was Mark."

"Your ex-husband Mark,"

"Yes." Rita started to cry, just his name made her shake again.

"Why has he been threatening you?" You could hear the anger in Dylan's voice increase.

"Because…he…" Rita stuttered; she didn't want to have to say it.

"What did he do?"

"He…Mark…raped me." Rita started to cry again.

Dylan hugged Rita tighter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

They sat on the bench like that for about half an hour. It came as a shock to Rita how Dylan could be so caring to another person. She would never admit but she kind of liked his hugs, it made her feel safe. Dylan let go of her and she looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy from where she had been crying.

"I'm taking you home." Dylan said standing up and taking Rita by the hand.

"But what about…" Rita replied, looking towards the ED.

"It'll be fine; I'll just say to them that you weren't feeling well so I took you home."

"Thank you Dylan."

Rita looked down at the floor; Dylan grabbed hold of her shoulders making her look up at him.

"We are going to get this sorted. You are going to get through this and he is going to get what he deserves!"

"You can't tell anybody about this!" Rita started to shake her head.

"We'll do it in your own time that's fine." Dylan said softly.

"No. You don't understand. I can't tell anybody. They'll all blame me and tell me that it was my fault for winding him up and leading him on. And they'll be right because that's all I ever do."

"Do what?"

"I push people. I push them so much that they snap and then I get what I deserve. Which is this."

"You did not deserve what Mark did to you!" Dylan said sternly.

"Yes I did." Rita gritted through her teeth.

"No! You deserve someone who cares for you, who can look after you and be there for you. But most of all you need justice because what Mark did to you was wrong and he needs to be punished. I am not going to pressure you into telling the police but you know what you need to do."

Rita started to well up and shook her head. "No, I can't. It'll be too humiliating."

"No it won't. You know exactly how they handle cases and they will treat you like they treat everyone else I promise."

Dylan pulled her in for another hug. Then she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Okay I'm ready." She nodded.

Dylan put his arm around her shoulder and they made their way over to SARC.

It didn't take too long which Rita was thankful for. She was also thankful to Dylan who stayed with her the whole time. After they had left the hospital Dylan decided to take Rita home with him to his boat house.

Dylan made a bed up for her on the sofa and he made her a mug of hot chocolate topped with cream. He sat down next to her whilst they watched TV. He turned his head to look at her; she looked so concentrated on the programme.

"I'm proud of you."

She looked back at him with a faint smile. He could see in her eyes and in her smile that this had completely broken her, as it would anyone. But he was glad that she had told him because now he could help her through this and hopefully get that big smile of hers back onto her face, it would take a while but she was worth it.

Dylan checked the time on his watch: 2:15am.

"I think we better get some sleep otherwise we'll be zombies tomorrow, well today." Dylan laughed lightly.

Rita didn't say anything in response she just nodded. Dylan stood up and walked into his room; he got into his bed and he laid there staring at the ceiling. He listened out for her until he heard a faint snore, knowing that she was asleep made him feel more comfortable to get some rest.

He was suddenly woken up at half three to a scream and then crying coming from Rita. He shot up from his bed and ran into the living room to find her sat up cuddling her knees, tears streaming down her face. He sat next to her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Shh. It's okay, I'm here now. Shh." He stroked her head.

She snuggled right into Dylan and held onto him tightly.

They stayed like that for about ten minutes; he could hear that Rita was drifting off again so he shook her slightly. She looked up at him; her eyes half open.

"Come with me." Dylan whispered as he stood up holding Rita's hand.

Rita followed him into his room.

"Why are you bringing me into your room?" Rita said through her sobs.

"I can't leave you in there on your own." Dylan stroked her arms.

He sat down on the edge of the bed; her hands still entwined with his. For some reason she didn't feel at all awkward, there was a sense about Dylan that made her feel comfortable. When she first met him she thought that he was moody bastard who only cared about himself but over the last couple of days her opinion of him has changed. She has seen that he isn't at all moody, well not all the time that is and he doesn't just care about himself. In fact he cares more about other people than he does himself.

He pulled her down so that she was next to him, he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to look after you and everything is going to be okay. I promise." Dylan spoke softly.

She leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Dylan's cheek; she then stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed so that she could get in. She lay down but faced away from him while Dylan faced her.

The thoughts of the day and the previous night kept swirling through her mind. She felt comfortable in Dylan's presence but that didn't mean that those thoughts stopped. She started sniffling but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder; she turned around to see Dylan inviting her in for a hug. She nestled herself into him and she could feel that he was gripping onto her not wanting to let go.

They both fell asleep like that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Rita didn't wake up again until the morning.

When she woke up Dylan was still fast asleep and his hand was still rested on her waist. She carefully got out of the bed not wanting to wake him. She made her way into his kitchen to see if he had anything in his fridge that she could eat. Nothing. She checked the cupboards. Still nothing. She got dressed, grabbed her purse and went to leave the boat to go to the shop but she was stopped in her tracks by a grey, scraggy looking lurcher. It was Dervla.

"I suppose you want me to take you with me huh?" Rita put her hands on her hips. "Right come on then."

She looked around for her lead and eventually found it. Rita decided to write a note for Dylan because she knew he would panic when he sees that his dog isn't there. After she wrote the note and left it on the kitchen table she left the boat house.

In the time that she was gone Dylan had woken up and he started to panic wondering where she and his dog had gone but then he was reassured when he had seen that she left a note for him on his kitchen counter:

 _To Dylan,_

 _I've just nipped to the shop to get something for breakfast. I thought I would take Dervla for a walk as well._

 _Love Rita x_

He smiled at her note, then folded it and put it into his pocket. He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down and watched TV while he waited for her to come back.

After about half an hour she came back with a bag of food and of course Dervla. As soon as she walked in, Dervla bounded up to Dylan whilst Rita made her into the kitchen.

"Did you have a nice walk stinky?" Dylan said making a fuss of the dog.

He stood up and joined Rita in the kitchen; he was leaning on the door frame whilst he watched unpack the bag of food.

"What did you get then?" He asked making her jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump."

"It's okay, I hope you like pancakes." She smiled.

"My favourite," Dylan laughed.

"Good!"

"You didn't have to take Dervla for a walk."

"It's just my way of saying thank you for being there for me, I really appreciate it Dylan."

"I'm just looking out for a friend."

Rita's smile dropped slightly at the word 'friend'.

"What?" Dylan asked slightly confused. He put his hands on his hips.

"It doesn't matter." Rita shook her head.

"No tell me. What's wrong?" Dylan took a step closer to her.

Rita put her hands up. "No I'm fine, just leave it." She started to make the batter for the pancakes.

Dylan turned around and walked over to the fridge; he picked up the whipped cream. Rita did not notice him doing this. He ran over to her and held the can in front of her face. She turned to face him and started laughing.

"Tell me what's wrong or I will squirt this all over you!" Dylan laughed.

"You wouldn't." Rita folded her arms with a smirk on her face.

"I would." Dylan started to shake the can.

Rita grabbed the flour and ran to the other side of the kitchen with a big smile on her face.

"If you come anywhere near me I will throw this all over you!"

"Then tell me." Dylan smirked.

"No." Rita shook her head.

Dylan took a step closer to her.

Rita started to back her way around the kitchen and Dylan started to chase her. They were both laughing but Rita tripped on one of the chairs. Luckily Dylan caught her in time before she face planted the floor. He had his arms around her waist.

"It's nice seeing you smile."

Rita carried on smiling.

Dylan couldn't resist himself. He leaned down and placed his lips onto hers. At first she was surprised but then she kissed him back. She put her arms around his neck. They pulled away from each other and smiled.

"Now will you tell me?" Dylan asked.

"You said 'friend' but I think that's just been cleared up." Rita laughed.

"Oh. Well what happens now?"

"I'm not sure but I could do with some pancakes." She smirked.

They shared another kiss before Rita carried on making the pancakes.

After they had their pancakes they dropped Dervla off in doggy day care and made their way to work. In the car on the way up they discussed what was going to happen between them now and if they should tell people. They both agreed on not telling people until they had their heads around it. They walked into work together, the staff knew Rita had been upset the previous day and they knew that Dylan was looking after her so they didn't question anything.

Rita's day had fairly gone alright because she was keeping herself busy so she didn't have time to think about what happened. But as soon as she got some time alone to herself at lunch the memories and images came flooding back to her. She sat in the staff room crying. She knew there was only one way that she could get rid of these horrible images. So grabbed her bag and her coat and left the ED to go to the shop. Once she got into the shop she picked up the first vodka she'd seen and bought it. She stood outside and leant against the wall staring at the bottle; she twisted the cap off it and swigged. _That felt better._ She thought to herself. She couldn't go back to work now that she had had a drink so she headed home.

She stumbled through her front door about half an hour later. By the time she reached her house half of the vodka had gone. She had mascara running down her face and what she wanted to right now, was curl up in ball and let the ground swallow her up. She took another swig from the bottle and went into the kitchen; she searched in her cupboards for something to eat. She found some beans. _They'll do._ She poured them into a saucepan and put the gas on. However, she didn't light the hob properly so it was just gas coming out. She grabbed the bottle and went into the living room; she lay down on the sofa and put the TV on.

An hour had passed and by now the whole house had gas swirling around it. Rita was too drunk to be aware of the smell. She looked in her bag for some cigarettes that she had picked up before. She grabbed the lighter but it didn't spark straight. She gave a little shake and then it sparked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Back in the ED Dylan was pacing around his office trying to get Rita to pick up her phone. He heard a knock at his door and Zoe entered.

"Any luck?" Zoe asked.

"No." He replied. "I don't get it. She was fine this morning."

"What has happened?" Zoe looked concerned.

"I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"You can tell me I'm not exactly going to shout it from the rooftops am I?"

"No. This is something serious that I cannot talk to you about. I'm going to look for her, I'll see you later."

"Well good luck."

"Thank you."

Dylan grabbed his coat and his keys and got into his car.

About ten minutes later Dylan was driving into Rita's street. He could see the smoke, the fire engines and the ambulances. He got out of his car and ran straight over.

"Rita!" He shouted.

"Dylan, no you can't go in there!" Dixie shouted back stopping Dylan from running into the house.

"Is she in there?" Dylan asked.

"We're not sure, most likely." Dixie could barely speak.

"Well why are you just standing here? Get in there and save her!"

"The building isn't safe yet, I can't risk it."

"But she could die in there."

"I know; we are trying our best."

"No you're not."

Dylan took his coat off and used it to protect himself as he ran into the house. He could hear the fire fighters and Dixie calling him to come back but he ignored them. _I have to save her._ He couldn't see a thing in the house, the smoke was burning his eyes and he couldn't breathe. He called out for her hoping for a response but there was nothing. He made his way into what seemed like her living room. He called out for her again but this time he heard something moving, he looked around and in the corner of the room Rita was laying there, she was in pain. He ran over to her trying to dodge the fire. Eventually, he got to her.

"Rita, can you hear me?" Dylan asked shaking her.

She made a muffled sound to show that she could hear him but he knew that if he didn't get her out of this building quickly she would be in trouble. He put his coat over and picked her up. He struggled to get back out of the house but he finally got out. Once Dixie had seen him coming out holding Rita she ran straight over to him and helped. They put her on the trolley and gave her oxygen. Dylan was about to get on the ambulance with Rita but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You need to get yourself checked out." Iain said calmly.

"No I'm fine; I need to be with her."

"We need to check you for smoke inhalation."

"I'll get myself checked out in the hospital, I promise."

"Just let him on Iain, we need to go." Dixie interrupted.

"Thank you." Dylan replied.

Dylan got into the ambulance and sat down next to the trolley. He held her hand whilst they were on the way to the hospital.

"Why did you go in?" Dixie asked Dylan.

"I had to." Dylan didn't take his eyes off Rita.

"No you didn't, you should've just left it with the fire crew."

"What and let her die? She has been through so much; she can't just go like this." Dixie could hear the anger in his voice.

Dixie placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You could've gotten yourself killed." Dixie said softly.

"I know, but at least I would've died saving her." Dylan wiped away a piece of hair that was on Rita's face.

"She likes you, you know."

Dylan faced Dixie.

"What do you mean?"

"She told me. She likes you, like really likes you."

"I like her too." Dylan smiled.

All of a sudden the heart monitor started to bleep really fast. Dixie started giving her compressions.

"Iain mate can you hurry up she's arrested." Dixie shouted.

"I'm trying to go as quickly as I can!" Iain shouted back.

Dylan started panicking but he knew he had to stand back. Dixie put the pads on her and shocked her. Her heart was back in rhythm but only just.

Two minutes later they pulled up outside the ED. The team were ready and waiting for the arrival and got her from the ambulance straight away.

"Okay, this is Rita Freeman, 36 years old. She was involved in house fire, the cause is still unknown. She was in the building for approximately 45 minutes. She only has minor injuries. Her GCS is 15, her B/P is 95 over 60 and her sats are 95. We had to shock her on the way up. Right shall we get her onto the bed? On my count. 1. 2. 3. It looks like she has consumed alcohol prior to the accident as well."

"Okay thank you Dixie, we'll take it from here." Connie replied.

"Oh and someone is going to have to check Dylan for smoke inhalation." Dixie said.

"Right okay, Zoe can you do that for me please?" Connie asked.

"Sure." Zoe answered grabbing Dylan.

"I can't leave her." Dylan replied.

"Come on Dylan we have to get you checked out."

"No, I'm not leaving her!"

"There's nothing much you can do."

"But I'm a doctor surely there is something I can do."

"Not if you're putting yourself in danger as well now come on, you've done your bit, you got her here."

Dylan walked over to Rita and squeezed her hand.

"I'll be back later." He placed a kiss on her forehead.

He walked back over to Zoe and they left resus. A single tear rolled down Dylan's cheek.

"Right, sit yourself down on the bed." Zoe closed the curtain.

Zoe checked if Dylan's breathing, eyes and skin.

"I think you'll be fine, but if you have any worries come and see me."

Dylan nodded but didn't say anything.

"So, you and Rita is it?" Zoe asked.

"I don't think it's any of your business." Dylan said with a sharp tone.

"She's going to get through this."

"How can you know that?"

"This is Rita we are talking about. She is so strong, she has been through quite a lot and she has survived that."

"That's the thing, after everything, this just might push her over the edge."

"What's happened Dylan?"

"It was Mark."

"Her ex-husband? What did he do?"

Dylan paused for a moment.

"He raped her."

"Oh, when did she tell you?"

"Yesterday."

"I assume that's why you and her went home."

"Yeh." Dylan looked down at the floor. He didn't want to show Zoe that he was feeling weak.

"Has she told the police?"

"Not yet but she's been to SARC and at least that's one step in the right direction."

"If you ever need to speak to someone Dylan, I'm always here for you."

"Thank you Zoe. I just don't know what to do."

"Just be there for her, help her."

Zoe pulled Dylan in for a hug.

"I should probably see how she's doing." Dylan said standing up.

"Are you sure?"

Dylan nodded and made his way to Resus. He saw Connie coming out.

"Connie how is she doing?" Dylan asked.

"We have stabilised her, she'll be going up for CT soon."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes but she is still unconscious."

"Thank you."

"Just doing my job."

Dylan walked in to Resus and over to Rita where he took hold of her hand. _She looks so peaceful._ He thought to himself.

Rita started to stir. She tried to lift her free hand to take off her oxygen mask but she was too weak to do it so Dylan helped her.

"Hey." Dylan smiled.

"What's happened?" Rita said quietly.

"You were in a fire."

Rita looked confused.

"What?"

"It's okay, you're safe."

Dylan placed his lips on hers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Rita had been in the hospital for nearly two hours now. Dylan would check in on her every now and again to see if she was doing okay. Connie entered Rita's cubicle to ask her a few questions and check her progress.

"Rita I need to ask you. Do you know how the fire started?" Connie asked.

"I…I can't remember." She replied shaking her head and looking down at her hands.

"Well, Dixie said on the way in that she could smell alcohol on your breath and that could have caused the fire to start. Did you consume any alcohol?"

Rita tried her hardest to remember what had happened. The more she thought about it, the clearer it became. She looked around the small space she had, the thought of having to confess to Connie that she had drunk a significant volume of vodka made her feel sick. But she knew if she didn't tell her then Connie will be on her back about for the rest of her life.

"Yes." She said quickly.

Connie was taken aback. "What?"

Rita nodded. "I was getting stressed at work so I bought myself a bottle of vodka and went home. I must've drunk it all because all I can remember was putting some beans on the hob and the next thing I knew I was being thrown across my room by the blast."

Connie nodded taking in all the information.

"The firemen have reported back to us, they wanted to let you know that they have put out the fire but there was so much damage that it is going to be a very long time before you can even start thinking about going back there. They also mentioned that by the smell of the house when they were inspecting it there was a very strong smell of gas, do you think you might not have put the hob on properly?"

Rita had a confused look on her face. She felt the tears starting to prick in her eyes. Connie looked at her sympathetically.

"You are going to have to talk to the police." Connie said softly.

"Now?" She replied.

"Whenever you are comfortable and ready but they have asked for it to be as soon as possible." Connie reassured her.

Rita nodded in response. Connie went to leave but stopped to look back at Rita.

"Rita?" She asked.

"Yes?" Rita replied.

"Do you have anywhere you can stay?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, if you are desperate you are welcome to stay with me until you find a new place." Connie gave Rita a faint smile.

"Thank you." Rita smiled back at her.

Connie left the cubicle. About five minutes later the curtains opened again but this time it was Dylan. Rita's eyes grew wider and she smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Dylan asked.

"Okay I guess. I have to talk the police in a bit."

"About the accident?"

Rita nodded. She started to cry at the thought of having to tell everyone that the fire was her fault. Dylan rushed over to her side; he put his arm around to comfort her.

"Shh. It's okay." He whispered.

"But it's not though is it?"

"What do you mean?" Dylan asked looking down at her.

"I started this. I started that fire, it's all my fault."

"None of this is your fault." Dylan said slowly.

Rita turned to face him. They looked into each other's eyes. Dylan cupped her face with one of his hands and wiped away her tears. He leaned down and placed his lips on hers. They pulled away just as Connie walked with the police officer.

"Rita Freeman?" The officer asked.

"Yes." Rita replied.

"I would like to ask you a few questions if that is okay?"

Rita nodded.

"We have been informed by the fire department that the fire started due to exposed gas in the building. Do you have any idea as to what may have caused this?"

Rita looked at Dylan, then at Connie and at the officer again.

"I was cooking something and I might've not put the hob on properly, I don't know."

"How can you notice that the hob was properly?"

Rita hesitated. "I was drunk."

Dylan's eyes widened at Rita's statement.

"In the afternoon?" The officer asked.

"Yes."

"How much alcohol did you roughly consume?"

"Um. A bottle."

"Of what?"

She took a deep breath. "Vodka."

"Can I ask you why you drinking a bottle of vodka in the middle of the afternoon?"

"I needed to forget everything."

"Such as?"

Rita looked down at her hands, her eyes started to well up. She felt a hand entwine with hers.

"You can do this, just tell her." Dylan whispered.

Rita looked back up at the officer. She took another deep breath before she spoke.

"On the 26th of May, I was…raped by Mark Richie. My ex-husband. I was drinking because I wanted to get rid of those memories."

The police officer didn't say anything else; she just scribbled some notes onto the notepad she was holding. In the corner of her eye, Rita could see Connie was looking down at the floor. Dylan was still holding her hand but he was looking down at the floor as well.

"That will be all but now that you have informed me of that information I would like you to make an official statement but you can wait until you are comfortable but I urge you to speak out. This is the first step."

Rita nodded but didn't say anything. The officer left the cubicle. Connie stood up, she looked at Rita.

"I am so sorry." She said softly. She then too left the cubicle.

Rita turned to face Dylan.

"I am so proud of you! Mark is going to get what he deserves." Dylan said placing a kiss on Rita's forehead.

"Dylan?"

"Yes?"

"Take me home."

"But?"

"With you. Take me home with you."

"Are you serious?" Dylan asked slightly surprised.

Rita nodded. "I want to be with you Dylan."

Dylan's lips crashed onto Rita's. They pulled away from each other.

"I better find out when they are discharging you then." Dylan whispered; he then left the cubicle.

Rita smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Two years later…**

It has been two years since Rita's life got turned upside down. It has taken her two years to get over everything that had happened to her. She would never have done it without the help of her best friend and partner Dylan. Mark got sentenced for 5 years and he was out of her life. Life has never felt better, she is at a time where she is the most happiest she has have ever been in her whole life. Rita doesn't have those thoughts whirling around her head as much and she rarely has a nightmare about that night. Even when she has those nightmares she is always comforted by Dylan who has been a rock to her throughout the whole time; from the start, through the courts and at the very end. Rita is happy and nothing and no one can change that…or can they?


End file.
